Police

And this is a photo is from the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul. The demonstrations at the convention were mostly middle aged women peace activists, as far as I know. There were some kids (see above). But nothing to require creating a security perimeter around downtown St. Paul and filling it with cops like the ones we see here. Let's face it. The people who run America are afraid of ordinary Americans

The police in Ferguson are far better equipped and look far worse. They look like an army of occupation.